Sheridan Conrad
Sheridan Conrad feels fortunate to have been raised by a family and in a community that embraced art. Growing up in Oklahoma, the heartland of America, Sheridan loved visiting museums and exhibits that traveled through the state. She adored drawing but was most captivated by creating things with her hands. Sheridan recalls happily discovering one of her very first creations ten years ago after her father passed. She found the butterfly she formed from pipe cleaners as a child carefully placed in an envelope her father kept safe.
As Sheridan grew older, she knew her craving to create would lead to an artistic career. "That was who I was," Sheridan says fondly. She was also influenced early on by established professional artists nearby. Her mother was friends with notable watercolor painter Winnie Hawkins, and she lived next store to internationally known sculptor Shirley Thompson Smith. Even though her parents supported her passion, she came to a crossroads in high school that forced her to make a huge decision that would shape her future path.
She decided to attend the University of Arkansas, and her parents did not feel an art major would be a lucrative career path. Despite their past support of her artistic endeavors, her parents felt creating original works was more of a hobby. "I struggled with getting their approval and staying true to myself," states Sheridan. So, she decided to study architecture to please them and take as many art classes as possible to further her exploration. Not long after beginning her college education, a jewelry design class became the gateway to a fulfilling creative career.
Ironically, her first commission job came from her modern dance instructor. She was going through a divorce and asked Sheridan to create a new piece of jewelry from her old wedding ring. The paying gig confirmed her artistic vision could help shape a rewarding career. Ironically, she discovered late in life that her grandfather, whom she had never met, owned six jewelry stores. The love for jewelry was always in her genes.
Butterfly Brooch by Sheridan Conrad
After college, Sheridan returned to Oklahoma, earning a polisher job in a jewelry company. She quickly worked her way up to a "bench jeweler" position that enabled her to master her stone setting and design skills. Sheridan loved and thrived in the collaborative environment and was one of the few women working in the male-dominated industry. She worked at the company for several years, developing her abilities and expanding her expertise, such as obtaining her GIA certification to buy diamonds and gemstones.
Once Sheridan felt she had learned all she could from the company, she left to open a wholesale jewelry business with a partner. She immersed herself entirely into the jewelry industry, running her business, creating custom jewelry art for clients, and teaching jewelry design part-time at the local colleges. Sheridan says, "It has become a passion of mine to introduce young people to the art form because most people don't consider jewelry an art form." She operated her wholesale business for ten years before opening A Jewelers Art jewelry gallery, which she managed for an additional ten years. She then transitioned out of her gallery and started showing her work in other prestigious galleries while teaching on the side. To date, Sheridan's impressive career in the jewelry industry spans over 45 years.
For Sheridan, jewelry art is a language, a way she looks at life, and an unseen world. "If I were not able to create, it would impact me greatly because it is a way I express and balance myself," says Sheridan. Creating jewelry art has become even more meaningful to her over time. She is now more committed to making people aware that jewelry is a medium of art. She continues to speak as a guest artist at local universities to pass the age-old techniques to the next generation of creators to keep the art alive.
Even though her design process changes with every piece she makes, each technique she knows is vital to bringing her ideas to fruition. Sheridan says, "The design always dictates the technique, and the more techniques you've mastered, the more options and possibility you have to create something distinct." Currently, she is creating jewelry art focused on nature and awareness of our environment. She intends for each piece to further our understanding of our crucial balance with nature. Sheridan states, "I'm constantly influenced by what is around me, and I believe the serendipity created by the elements of the natural world I observe and the pieces I create is pure joy." Sheridan has maintained a firm commitment to using respectfully and ethically sourced non-man-made materials.
Sheridan's current "Nature's Cathedral" exhibition showcases her artistic focus on nature. The show, opening on December 8th at 1515 Lincoln Gallery, invites viewers to pause their busy lives and pay attention to the present moment. Sheridan states, "I hope that the viewer will become more aware of Nature's beauty, its fragile balance with humankind, and how we should do everything in our power to maintain the equilibrium." Her new show reflects her intention to slow down and pay attention to the details of her life and work. She plans to do a sabbatical over the next year on pieces that don't have a specific timeline. "I want to give myself the freedom to let the design speak to me so I can follow what is needed," states Sheridan. After devoting over four decades of her life to mastering techniques, learning the business, and creating an impressive body of work, Sheridan has earned the privilege to pause, and this time will most certainly benefit her and her designs.
Please visit the 1515 Lincoln Gallery website to learn more about Sheridan and view her jewelry art available for purchase.
